Integrated tracking for on screen navigation with small hand held devices

ABSTRACT

A method for navigating information displayed on a display of a computer system includes determining movement of the computer system. The movement of the computer system is sensed by a movement sensor.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of data processing.More particularly, an embodiment of the present invention relates toenabling documents to be viewed with a portable device.

BACKGROUND

Mobile computer systems such as, for example, laptop or notebookcomputer systems, personal digital assistants (PDA), cellular phones,etc. are quickly gaining popularity because of their small size,lightweight, increase in performance and decrease in cost. Depending onthe type of systems, the size of the display may vary. For example, alaptop computer system may have a 15 inch display, whereas a PDA mayhave a smaller display. One drawback of having a small display is theability to view information. Often, information is filtered such thatlimited amount can be displayed. When the information cannot befiltered, it may be possible to display the information. The smallerdisplay also makes it difficult to navigate the information beingdisplayed especially when there is limited navigation capability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be best understood by referring to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrateembodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a prior art computer system, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a bottom view of acomputer system equipped with a movement sensor, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an example of controlling location of acursor in a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of controlling information displayed on adisplay screen of a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIGS. 5A-C are diagrams illustrating different examples of interactionswith a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a process ofdetermining information to be displayed on a computer system equippedwith a movement sensor, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of a computer system, in accordance withone embodiment.

DESCRIPTION

For one embodiment, a method and system for controlling informationdisplayed in a computer system is disclosed. The computer system may bea handheld computer system equipped with a movement sensor. Theinformation displayed on a display screen of the computer system may beassociated with a portion of the data entity. Navigating the informationto display other portions of the data entity may be performed by sensingmovement of the computer system.

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the presentinvention numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the presentinvention.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the invention. The appearances of the phrase “for one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

In the following discussion, the phrase computer system may refer to alaptop computer system, a handheld computer system, a micro personalcomputer system, a tablet computer system, a digital organizer, acellular phone or any other portable computer systems that may include adisplay screen to display information.

Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a prior art computer system, inaccordance with one embodiment. Computer system 100 may be a digitalorganizer such as those manufactured by, for example, palmOne Inc. ofMilpitas, Calif. The computer system 100 may include a writing area 115and a display 105. The display 105 may be a color display, a monochromedisplay, etc. The display 105 may be small (e.g., 160×160 pixel display)and may limit the amount of information that is viewable at a time.

To view information on the display 105, a vertical scroll bar 110 may beprovided to enable scrolling. Depending on the type of information,there may also be a horizontal scroll bar 112 to enable displayinginformation adjacent to the information currently displayed. A pointingdevice or a stylus (not shown) may be used to interact with the scrollbars 110, 115. Another technique used to enable scrolling includes usinga thumb wheel (not shown). To scroll diagonally, a combination ofvertical and horizontal scrolling may be required, making the techniquesdescribed in this example slow and cumbersome.

Movement Sensor

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a bottom view of acomputer system equipped with a movement sensor, in accordance with oneembodiment. For one embodiment, a bottom side of the computer system 200may include a movement sensor 205. The movement sensor 205 may be anydevice that can sense directions of the movement of the computer system200 on a surface. The surface may be generally flat. The bottom side ofthe computer system 200 may be designed with appropriate surfacecontacts (not shown) made with material that may enable the computersystem 200 to be moved across the surface with relative ease while notinterfering with functionalities of the movement sensor 205. For oneembodiment, the movement sensor 205 may be an optical sensor. Opticalsensors are known to one skilled in the art. The movement sensor 205 mayalso be located at a location other than the location illustrated inFIG. 2 as long as it is able to sense the directions of the movements ofthe computer system 200. For one embodiment, the bottom side of thecomputer system 200 may include a second movement sensor (not shown).The combination of the movement sensor 205 and the second movementsensor may enable detection of angular position or rotation of thecomputer system 200.

Translation Logic

For one embodiment, the computer system 200 may include logic thattranslates the information sensed by the movement sensor 205. This logicmay be referred to herein as translation logic. The translation logicmay be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. Forexample, the translation logic may translate the information sensed bythe movement sensor 205 into operations that can be performed by thecomputer system 200.

Cursor Control

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an example of controlling location of acursor in a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, inaccordance with one embodiment. Computer system 300 is illustrated withits top side and its display visible. The curve line drawn above thecomputer system 300 illustrates a pattern that the computer system 300has moved through in moving from location 305 (FIG. 3A) at time t1 tolocation 310 (FIG. 3B) at time t2. This pattern may be sensed by themovement sensor 205 and provided to the translation logic. Thetranslation logic may translate information associated with the patterninto operations that may result in moving a cursor along a similarpattern. This example is illustrated with a cursor located at position406 (FIG. 3A) before the movement of the computer system 300 and atposition 411 (FIG. 3B) after the movement of the computer system 300.The curve lines drawn on the display illustrate the similarity betweenthe movement of the cursor and the movement of the computer system 300.

Document Control

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of controlling information displayed on adisplay of a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, inaccordance with one embodiment. Computer system 400 is illustrated withits display visible. The display may be viewed as a window to a largedocument (e.g., a map) that cannot be displayed in its entirety due tothe small size of the display. In this example, the information beingdisplayed is associated with a section or portion 410 of a map 405. Themap 405 may be stored in the computer system 400, or it may be accessedvia a network. The map 405 in this example is illustrated logicallyrather than physically.

For one embodiment, the translation logic may translate the informationsensed by the movement sensor 205 into operations that may cause anothersection of the document to be displayed. The selection of this othersection may be consistent with the pattern of movement of the computersystem 400. Referring to FIG. 4, when the computer system 400 is movedhorizontally toward the right, the display may include a section of thedocument that is on the right side of the section previously included onthe display. Other arrows illustrated in FIG. 4 represent differentpossible directions (e.g., vertical, diagonal, etc.) that the computersystem 400 may be moved to display different sections of the document.

For one embodiment, the movement sensor 205 may be a mechanical sensorsuch as, for example, one that is implemented using a trackball. Thismay enable the movement sensor 205 to be manipulated while the computersystem 400 is not placed against a surface. For example, a user mayplace a finger over the trackball from the bottom side of the computersystem 400 and navigate or control information to be included on thedisplay by turning the trackball. The movement of the trackball may thenbe sensed by the movement sensor 205. It may be noted that one advantageof using the movement sensor 205 is that scrolling of the document inthe diagonal direction can be easily performed and thus can be veryintuitive.

FIGS. 5A-C are diagrams illustrating different examples of interactionswith a computer system equipped with a movement sensor, in accordancewith one embodiment. For one embodiment, in addition to having amovement sensor 205, computer system 500 may include an upper section(not shown) and a lower section (not shown). The display may be part ofthe upper section. The bottom side of the computer system 500 may bepart of the lower section. For one embodiment, when a pressure isapplied to the upper section, the upper section may move slightly towardthe lower section. The upper section may then move back to its normaldefault position when the pressure is removed. This type of movement maybe referred to as a clicking motion.

For one embodiment, depending on where the pressure is applied to theupper section, the computer system 500 may perform different operations.For example, when a pressure is applied such that the upper section isalmost evenly displaced toward the lower section, a first mouse clickmay be recognized by the computer system 500 and corresponding actionsmay be performed. The same mouse click may be recognized when thepressure 505 is applied toward the middle of the upper section (FIG.5A). When the pressure 510 is applied toward the right side of the uppersection (FIG. 5B), a second mouse click may be recognized by thecomputer system 500. When the pressure 515 is applied toward the leftside of the upper section (FIG. 5C), a third mouse click may berecognized by the computer system 500. The translation logic maytranslate the different types of clicking motions of the upper sectionrelative to the lower section into operations to be performed by thecomputer system 500. The ability to cause operations to be performed byinitiating different clicking motions as described with FIGS. 5A-C mayenable a user to use the computer system 500 more efficiently.

Process

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a process ofdetermining information to be displayed on a computer system equippedwith a movement sensor, in accordance with one embodiment. The processmay be performed by the computer system using the information providedby the movement sensor 205. At block 605, the computer system isdisplaying information associated with one section of a data entity(e.g., a document). At block 610, a test is made to determine if themovement sensor 205 has sensed any movement of the computer system.

When no movement is sensed, the computer system may continue to displaythe same information. However, when the computer system is moved, themovement sensor 205 senses the movement information, as shown in block615. This information may then be translated by the translation logicinto operations to display another section of the data entity, as shownin block 620. For example, when the computer system is moved in avertical direction on a surface, the computer system may display asection of the data entity that is above a section that was previouslydisplayed. As another example, when the computer system is equipped witha mechanical sensor such as a trackball, the same result may beaccomplished by turning the trackball downward to scroll the documentbeing displayed upward. It may be noted that the process described maybe used to scroll a document, move a cursor, or perform any operationsthat normally requires using a mouse or similar controlling devices.

Computer System

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of a computer system, in accordance withone embodiment. Computer system 700 may be a handheld computer systemand may include processor 705. The processor 705 may be a processor inthe family of Pentium processors manufactured by Intel Corporation ofSanta Clara, California. Other processors may also be used. The computersystem 700 may include a display controller 710 and memory 715. Thedisplay controller 710 may be coupled to a display (not shown) which maybe a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a display that uses other suitabledisplay technology. The memory 715 may be a combination of one or morestatic random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),read only memory (ROM), etc.

The computer system 700 may also include a movement sensor 720,translation logic 730 and a storage device 725. The movement sensor 720may be an optical sensor, a mechanical sensor, or any sensor that may beused to detect movements of the computer system 700. The translationlogic 730 may include logic to translate movement information sensed bythe movement sensor. 720. The translation logic 730 may translate thatinformation into operations that can be processed by the processor 705.The storage device 725 may be used to store the data entity that may beincluded on the display of the computer system 700. Although not shown,the computer system 700 may also include other components to enable itto perform various functions.

Computer Readable Media

It is also to be understood that because embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented as one or more software programs,embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or realized uponor within a machine readable medium. For example, the translation logicmay be implemented in software, and the instructions associated with thetranslation logic may be stored in a machine readable medium. A machinereadable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmittinginformation in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Forexample, a machine readable medium may include read only memory (ROM);random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storagemedia; flash memory devices, etc.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made theretowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

1. A method, comprising: determining information to be displayed on adisplay of a computer system by sensing movement of the computer system.2. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensing the movement of thecomputer system is performed using a movement sensor.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the movement sensor is an optical sensor.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein said sensing the movement of the computer system isperformed when the computer system is placed on a surface.
 5. The methodof claim 2, wherein the movement sensor is a mechanical sensor.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein said sensing the movement of the computersystem is performed when the computer system is on a surface orhandheld.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensing the movement ofthe computer system comprises sensing direction of the movement of thecomputer system.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said determining theinformation to be displayed on the display comprises determining theinformation consistent with said sensed direction of the movement of thecomputer system.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining an action to be performed by the computer system by sensinga clicking motion of the computer system.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the clicking motion of the computer system is initiated byapplying pressure on an upper section of the computer system toward alower section of the computer system.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid determining the information to be displayed on the display of thecomputer system comprises determining a location of a cursor. 12-16.(canceled)
 17. A system, comprising: a processor; a display coupled tothe processor; a first movement sensor coupled to the processor, thefirst movement sensor is to sense direction of movement of the system;and translation logic to translate the direction of movement of thesystem into a first set of operations to be performed by the processor,wherein the first set of operations includes displaying information onthe display consistent with the sensed direction of movement of thesystem.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the translation logic isfurther to translate clicking motion of the system into a second set ofoperations to be performed by the processor, wherein the second set ofoperations corresponds to an action performed when a mouse click isinitiated.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein said clicking motion isinitiated by applying pressure to an upper section of the system towarda lower section of the system, wherein said upper section includes thedisplay, and wherein said second section includes the movement sensor.20. (canceled)
 21. The system of claim 17, further comprising a secondmovement sensor coupled to the first movement sensor.
 22. The system ofclaim 21, wherein angular rotation is determined by using directionalinformation sensed by the first movement sensor and the second movementsensor.
 23. A method, comprising: navigating information displayed on adisplay of a computer system by causing a first movement sensor to sensemovement of the computer system.
 24. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising: controlling position of a cursor displayed on the display ofthe computer system by causing the first movement sensor to sensemovement of the computer system.
 25. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising: determining angular rotation of the computer system bycausing the first movement sensor and a second movement sensor to sensemovement of the computer system.
 26. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising: recognizing a mouse click action when an upper section ofthe computer system is displaced toward a lower section of the computersystem.
 27. (canceled)